WSSU, UNCSA seniors collaborate on Diggs Gallery exhibit

A unique exhibit is bringing graduating seniors from Winston-Salem State University (WSSU) and the University of North Carolina School of the Arts (UNCSA) together, and exposing them to new areas of art.

Pieces at the Diggs Gallery student exhibit, “Phantasmagoria: One World Between Our Worlds,” range from photography, paintings, sculpture and computer and graphic design by WSSU students, to set and costume designs from UNCSA students. This is the first time UNCSA students have displayed at WSSU’s Diggs Gallery. The idea came to fruition in January, with nine graduating seniors from the two universities – located less than two miles apart – meeting on both campuses to plan the exhibit.

Andrew Licout, a senior scene design major from UNCSA, says before the project, he’d never set foot on WSSU’s campus.

“What’s interesting here is the opportunity to work with artists from different backgrounds in order to form a cohesive show,” he says. “It’s exciting to be able to put this in the public’s eye.”

He says each piece in the exhibit has elements of storytelling. Licout’s pieces include the stage designs from a UNCSA production of August Wilson’s “Joe Turner’s Come and Gone” and designs for a Stevens Center production of “Florencia en el Amazonas.”

Terisha Richardson, a WSSU senior visual studies major from Washington, D.C., says collaborating on the show opened her eyes to unfamiliar areas of art.

 “I kind of looked at it as a whole. We’re all artists putting a show together,” Richardson explains.

Additional artists exhibiting for “Phantasmagoria” are: WSSU students Malik Black, Donavan Hutchins and Gregg Penn; and UNCSA students Chelsea Bednar, Elizabet Puksto and Alexa Ross. The exhibit runs at the Diggs Gallery through April 24. Photos from the exhibit are available on WSSU’s Flickr page.